U. Southern California

Rankings

Data year Earned doctorates Full-time graduate students Total R&D expenditures Research space
Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked
2024 29 94 459 5 99.4 631 27 97.2 925
2023 24 95 459 3 99.7 679 28 97.1 911 63 89.8 602
2022 32 93.3 457 2 99.8 680 27 97.1 900
2021 35 92.4 447 3 99.7 691 28 97 908 58 90.3 583
2020 32 93.2 450 3 99.7 698 27 97.2 916
2019 25 94.7 447 3 99.7 697 27 97.2 914 59 90.2 589
2018 30 93.3 428 5 99.4 700 23 97.6 911
2017 30 93.2 425 5 99.4 684 27 97.1 898 63 89.3 575
2016 26 94.2 430 2 99.9 697 30 96.8 896
2015 31 93 426 2 99.9 693 28 97 898 60 89.7 570
NOTES:
  • 1. See TableBuilder for the prior year data.
  • 2. Blank white cells indicate data not available, not applicable, or institution not eligible for survey.
  • 3. Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

Data

Number of earned doctorates, by trend major field of study of recipients: 2024–15
Fields 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All fields 501 535 479 397 437 494 435 460 490 452
  Science and engineering 418 429 394 325 372 406 345 366 393 344
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources . . . . . . 2 . . .
      Natural resources and conservation . . . . . . 2 . . .
    Biological and biomedical sciences 89 82 72 57 78 72 61 86 83 71
      Biochemistry and biophysics 2 . . 2 2 4 3 5 7 1
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 11 8 12 7 9 8 4 7 9 4
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 13 12 11 5 15 16 15 18 9 11
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy 3 6 6 6 4 4 3 4 7 9
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 10 7 4 4 8 5 3 5 5 5
      Genetics and genomics 2 3 . . 1 1 1 7 5 2
      Microbiology and immunology 2 . 2 4 . 1 3 . 4 3
      Molecular biology 15 17 13 8 12 12 7 15 13 14
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 21 18 13 13 18 17 16 13 16 15
      Pharmacology and toxicology 5 4 4 3 1 . 3 3 1 1
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 5 5 6 3 6 3 2 5 7 5
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other . 2 1 2 2 1 1 4 . 1
    Computer and information sciences 64 50 39 24 33 49 36 27 25 31
      Computer science 58 45 30 24 32 48 35 24 25 29
      Computer and information sciences, other 6 5 9 . 1 1 1 3 . 2
    Engineering 116 114 108 99 123 131 116 107 129 118
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 7 3 6 6 7 7 2 5 9 5
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 13 15 12 14 17 20 21 13 19 11
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 8 13 12 12 16 11 8 9 11 17
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 6 10 12 10 12 16 12 9 11 8
      Electrical and computer engineering 53 46 36 43 41 45 38 42 46 52
      Industrial engineering and operations research 7 12 6 3 9 12 11 10 5 6
      Materials and mining engineering 7 6 5 4 5 8 4 7 8 8
      Mechanical engineering 13 7 13 5 13 10 16 7 17 7
      Engineering, other 2 2 6 2 3 2 4 5 3 4
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 14 16 16 9 16 15 11 16 17 8
      Geological sciences 5 9 9 7 13 11 6 8 9 3
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 9 7 7 2 3 4 5 8 8 5
    Health sciences 23 24 27 25 24 25 27 21 19 19
      Pharmaceutical sciences 7 8 5 14 5 12 14 8 2 8
      Public health 10 10 8 4 9 7 6 6 7 1
      Health sciences, other 6 6 14 7 10 6 7 7 10 10
    Mathematics and statistics 16 18 24 10 10 17 10 6 14 12
      Applied mathematics 4 3 16 5 7 6 4 3 4 4
      Mathematics 1 1 1 2 . 5 4 3 3 5
      Statistics 4 2 4 . 2 2 . . 2 2
      Mathematics and statistics, other 7 12 3 3 1 4 2 . 5 1
    Physical sciences 37 40 37 39 38 37 29 35 35 26
      Astronomy and astrophysics 3 7 1 5 1 . 2 . . .
      Chemistry 27 29 25 25 26 21 21 25 26 18
      Physics 7 4 11 9 11 16 6 10 9 8
    Psychology 13 11 19 10 15 12 12 14 16 17
      Clinical psychology 5 4 7 6 6 4 5 4 5 8
      Counseling and applied psychology . . 1 . . 1 . . . 1
      Research and experimental psychology 7 6 10 3 9 5 6 9 10 7
      Psychology, other 1 1 1 1 . 2 1 1 1 1
    Social sciences 46 74 52 52 35 48 41 54 55 42
      Anthropology . 1 . . . . . . 3 1
      Economics 16 23 12 18 9 16 9 17 13 5
      Political science and government 2 8 7 7 2 4 3 7 4 3
      Public policy analysis 3 4 5 4 2 2 5 1 9 3
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 10 2 4 2 5 6 5 1 5 1
      Social sciences, other 15 36 24 21 17 20 19 28 21 29
  Non-science and engineering 83 106 85 72 65 88 90 94 97 108
    Business 10 11 18 10 11 11 15 8 9 15
      Business 10 11 18 10 11 11 15 8 9 15
    Education 7 16 8 7 9 8 10 12 18 10
      Education leadership and administration 2 1 2 2 1 2 4 6 4 1
      Education research 2 15 6 3 8 6 6 3 11 8
      Teacher education and teaching fields 2 . . . . . . . 1 1
      Education, other 1 . . 2 . . . 3 2 .
    Humanities and arts 48 50 35 28 23 40 38 47 41 53
      Letters 22 22 16 11 6 13 14 19 17 18
      Foreign languages and literature 2 4 2 1 1 2 4 6 3 2
      History 6 2 3 3 4 4 2 6 2 15
      Philosophy and religious studies 8 5 6 2 3 6 8 5 4 6
      Music and performing arts 1 2 . . . 3 1 2 . 1
      Humanities and arts, other 9 15 8 11 9 12 9 9 15 11
    Other non-science and engineering 18 29 24 27 22 29 27 27 29 30
      Communication 12 21 14 18 15 18 17 16 21 22
      Public administration and social services 6 5 9 8 5 8 9 7 6 7
      Non-science and engineering, other . 3 1 1 2 3 1 4 2 1

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates

Full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health, by selected characteristics: 2024–15
All races 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 3,182 3,460 3,512 3,726 2,709 2,589 2,285 2,240 2,655 2,619
    Hispanic or Latino 640 613 630 586 425 370 332 338 372 351
    Not Hispanic or Latino 2,434 2,738 2,810 3,043 2,199 2,136 1,857 1,807 2,164 2,192
      American Indian or Alaska Native 8 6 5 10 12 6 4 6 19 7
      Asian 1,110 1,185 1,110 1,157 743 691 585 566 706 655
      Black or African American 174 174 183 205 132 139 128 110 190 164
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 3 7 10 13 10 19 13 10 11 8
      White 968 1,179 1,280 1,441 1,174 1,161 1,052 1,035 1,232 1,276
      More than one race 171 187 222 217 128 120 75 80 6 82
    Unknown ethnicity and race 108 109 72 97 85 83 96 95 119 76
  Temporary visa holders 5,407 5,696 6,050 5,541 4,210 5,108 4,183 4,172 4,470 4,197
  Science and engineering 8,017 8,463 8,802 8,463 6,312 7,071 5,892 5,880 6,589 6,300
    Science 5,827 6,092 6,310 6,267 4,552 4,870 3,739 3,625 4,457 4,071
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4
      Biological and biomedical sciences 917 873 785 1,060 700 693 626 537 440 501
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 503 504
      Computer and information sciences 2,778 3,004 3,246 2,731 1,988 2,349 1,432 1,426 1,418 1,263
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 109 107 110 109 102 99 90 100 92 92
      Mathematics and statistics 312 359 369 385 128 155 145 153 153 133
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 279 284 302 403 315 310 378 386 233 167
      Natural resources and conservation 13 18 50 60 10 7 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 344 340 313 324 316 322 254 243 239 245
      Psychology 222 258 260 261 220 225 205 139 162 73
      Social sciences 853 849 875 934 773 710 609 641 1,118 974
    Engineering 2,190 2,371 2,492 2,196 1,760 2,201 2,153 2,255 2,132 2,229
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 134 181 167 151 110 70 56 56 52 55
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 204 192 180 169 150 169 163 200 185 202
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 89 91 111 118 117 144 268 328 361 342
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 184 207 156 159 167 212 186 226 196 220
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 962 1,024 1,130 963 728 1,040 1,084 1,042 944 961
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 130 115 143 162 95 94 177 180 182 221
      Mechanical engineering 194 208 231 207 178 215 208 214 199 215
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 21 34 34 26 32 40 0 0 0 0
      Other engineering 272 319 340 241 183 217 11 9 13 13
    Health 572 693 760 804 607 626 576 532 536 516
      Clinical medicine 346 463 515 563 330 316 286 295 314 299
      Other health 226 230 245 241 277 310 290 237 222 217

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Part-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health, by selected characteristics: 2024–15
All races 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 1,270 1,311 1,247 1,587 1,095 1,008 918 953 1,346 1,197
    Hispanic or Latino 299 282 252 294 188 168 123 149 217 170
    Not Hispanic or Latino 929 986 951 1,225 867 783 743 748 1,057 969
      American Indian or Alaska Native 4 2 3 6 4 3 2 0 7 3
      Asian 406 387 343 441 271 223 209 233 318 266
      Black or African American 63 75 69 86 67 55 51 42 119 71
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 3 3 2 4 4 6 4 4 7 7
      White 399 460 476 601 484 458 441 437 605 588
      More than one race 54 59 58 87 37 38 36 32 1 34
    Unknown ethnicity and race 42 43 44 68 40 57 52 56 72 58
  Temporary visa holders 539 677 601 911 1,106 1,051 907 1,007 900 1,000
  Science and engineering 1,663 1,788 1,654 2,237 2,036 1,879 1,671 1,780 2,082 2,030
    Science 870 989 836 1,148 1,019 775 486 532 920 847
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 43 52 30 52 28 24 17 25 3 2
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 144 149
      Computer and information sciences 591 708 533 732 666 536 285 345 310 396
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 3 3 6
      Mathematics and statistics 20 27 8 8 9 10 4 11 13 18
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 62 55 65 92 66 94 78 85 84 72
      Natural resources and conservation 1 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 2 0 2 5 2 6 2 0 0 3
      Psychology 14 11 20 30 22 34 36 1 32 3
      Social sciences 136 135 176 225 225 70 63 62 326 196
    Engineering 793 799 818 1,089 1,017 1,104 1,185 1,248 1,162 1,183
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 274 256 244 270 200 109 152 157 161 99
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 27 27 33 44 29 27 47 43 46 53
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 5 5 14 17 15 37 102 154 136 155
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 40 37 22 29 29 61 80 102 76 78
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 176 199 219 331 454 446 531 488 450 445
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 86 87 79 111 57 75 79 100 95 140
      Mechanical engineering 91 83 92 133 120 196 186 195 191 204
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 8 5 6 11 9 22 0 0 0 0
      Other engineering 86 100 109 143 104 131 8 9 7 9
    Health 146 200 194 261 165 180 154 180 164 167
      Clinical medicine 75 101 114 158 65 75 72 60 36 22
      Other health 71 99 80 103 100 105 82 120 128 145

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health receiving primary support from federal sources, by field: 2024–15
Field 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All surveyed fields 896 933 832 799 752 716 682 782 695 720
  Science and engineering 873 915 793 766 721 664 630 741 652 686
    Science 456 480 468 454 442 446 393 494 401 456
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 183 184 177 180 182 158 122 210 129 164
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
      Computer and information sciences 104 122 138 120 123 135 156 125 100 114
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 29 27 23 32 23 23 15 22 24 26
      Mathematics and statistics 4 2 8 2 1 3 3 4 1 4
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 1 2 4 0 5 6 7 12 13 6
      Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 104 112 86 89 76 93 67 90 64 60
      Psychology 15 18 10 8 11 15 11 12 14 13
      Social sciences 16 13 22 23 20 13 12 19 14 21
    Engineering 417 435 325 312 279 218 237 247 251 230
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 13 8 5 4 8 3 5 4 0 4
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 85 89 3 3 3 2 22 39 31 44
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 26 21 17 19 3 18 20 25 27 27
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 45 36 28 32 26 23 35 32 34 9
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 207 239 216 216 200 133 127 99 115 118
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 15 21 26 21 22 13 22 18 15 16
      Mechanical engineering 26 21 30 17 17 26 6 30 27 12
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Other engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
    Health 23 18 39 33 31 52 52 41 43 34
      Clinical medicine 13 6 2 8 3 5 17 14 11 13
      Other health 10 12 37 25 28 47 35 27 32 21

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health, by type and primary source of support: 2024–15
Type and primary source of support 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All types and sources of support 8,589 9,156 9,562 9,267 6,919 7,697 6,468 6,412 7,125 6,816
  Fellowships 705 647 573 594 590 689 624 563 595 632
    Federal 89 88 88 80 76 111 96 85 90 70
    Institutional 552 507 448 485 471 501 471 435 463 508
    Nonfederal 64 52 37 29 43 77 57 43 42 54
  Research assistantships 1,405 1,418 1,390 1,416 1,232 1,177 1,098 1,015 1,032 1,024
    Federal 775 833 723 690 635 576 575 676 591 640
    Institutional 520 480 554 637 512 496 426 209 313 280
    Nonfederal 110 105 113 89 85 105 97 130 128 104
  Teaching assistantships 738 708 709 662 665 673 631 724 713 708
    Federal 0 0 1 0 7 13 0 0 0 0
    Institutional 738 708 708 655 656 659 628 723 708 688
    Nonfederal 0 0 0 7 2 1 3 1 5 20
  Other types of support 5,741 6,383 6,890 6,595 4,432 5,158 4,115 4,110 4,785 4,452
    Federal 32 12 20 29 34 16 11 21 14 10
    Institutional 138 192 92 199 116 108 96 139 255 331
    Nonfederal 89 42 36 67 64 29 90 46 20 27
    Personal resources 5,482 6,137 6,742 6,300 4,218 5,005 3,918 3,904 4,496 4,084

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Postdoctorates in science, engineering, and health, by selected characteristics: 2024–15
All races 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  Science and engineering 277 261 276 300 277 285 287 304 276 280
    Science 202 190 216 241 213 228 238 250 226 239
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 100 89 109 120 103 126 126 139 108 116
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
      Computer and information sciences 5 4 2 2 9 11 10 3 8 13
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 21 20 19 20 16 17 22 30 24 20
      Mathematics and statistics 15 14 24 28 14 0 0 0 0 0
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 12 14 13 15 13 14 27 20 18 17
      Natural resources and conservation 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 24 26 28 39 36 37 26 31 24 26
      Psychology 1 1 1 2 6 9 8 11 12 20
      Social sciences 22 22 19 15 16 14 19 16 25 22
    Engineering 75 71 60 59 64 57 49 54 50 41
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 14 14 9 6 4 5 13 11 9 8
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 12 14 16
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 15 9 7 4 5 4 5 5 4 1
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 31 34 30 29 36 29 18 13 16 12
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 1 2 1 3 4 6 5 4 2 1
      Mechanical engineering 7 6 4 10 9 8 3 9 5 3
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Other engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Health 154 160 179 161 173 171 172 148 173 195
      Clinical medicine 126 136 142 144 149 150 145 130 157 179
      Other health 28 24 37 17 24 21 27 18 16 16

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Federally supported science, engineering, and health postdoctorates, by field: 2024–15
Field 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All surveyed fields 231 240 282 270 252 266 243 253 229 221
  Science and engineering 148 157 167 184 166 189 180 196 174 159
    Science 100 115 126 147 128 152 151 167 142 143
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 61 70 85 103 81 93 78 100 69 73
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 2 0 2 1 7 8 8 3 4 12
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 4 3 6 3 1 3 11 14 18 14
      Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 12 14 13 13 11 13 26 18 18 17
      Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 15 22 16 24 24 28 17 21 16 15
      Psychology 1 1 1 1 3 6 7 9 10 8
      Social sciences 5 5 3 2 1 1 4 2 4 4
    Engineering 48 42 41 37 38 37 29 29 32 16
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 10 8 6 4 2 4 8 6 5 5
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 0 2 4 3 0 4 2 7 7 4
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 8 5 5 2 2 3 4 4 4 0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 26 24 22 23 29 18 13 10 11 5
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 1 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 4 2 3 5 4 6 2 1 5 2
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Other engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Health 83 83 115 86 86 77 63 57 55 62
      Clinical medicine 73 76 89 75 71 62 56 48 48 57
      Other health 10 7 26 11 15 15 7 9 7 5

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Total R&D expenditures, by field: 2024–15
(Dollars in thousands)
Field 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  All R&D fields 1,264,197 1,154,804 1,039,905 955,565 941,198 909,683 891,625 764,322 702,866 691,031
    Science 1,105,798 997,684 915,034 837,346 821,502 792,962 781,712 656,302 596,146 580,930
      Computer and information sciences 125,806 122,842 112,104 115,694 121,116 124,944 119,500 108,804 87,870 92,058
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 20,003 20,785 22,308 14,323 19,983 16,850 16,323 15,855 19,128 20,051
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Geological and earth sciences 8,483 10,697 9,472 10,291 11,575 12,588 12,550 12,440 12,907 13,762
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 11,520 10,088 12,836 4,032 5,953 4,262 3,773 3,415 6,221 6,289
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 0 0 0 0 2,455 0 0 0 0 0
      Life sciences 843,447 744,073 680,873 598,925 580,982 568,194 579,028 471,334 422,781 411,987
        Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Biological and biomedical sciences 464,609 382,074 398,478 117,462 132,168 140,622 137,003 126,927 119,227 45,111
        Health sciences 356,769 342,531 262,080 468,905 427,949 408,849 428,328 334,385 293,690 350,720
        Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Life sciences nec 22,069 19,468 20,315 12,558 20,865 18,723 13,697 10,022 9,864 16,156
      Mathematics and statistics 1,932 2,031 1,392 1,472 1,617 1,500 1,220 1,218 1,464 1,707
      Physical sciences 21,423 18,195 17,696 21,413 23,644 20,109 17,751 16,075 20,210 16,924
        Astronomy and astrophysics 8,490 6,542 6,221 2 16 14 1,225 1 103 27
        Chemistry 12,933 11,653 11,475 12,687 14,232 14,258 12,180 12,856 15,831 13,984
        Materials science 0 0 0 2,965 1,433 1,427 1,611 0 1,236 0
        Physics 0 0 0 5,759 5,508 4,410 2,735 3,218 3,040 2,913
        Physical sciences nec 0 0 0 0 2,455 0 0 0 0 0
      Psychology 8,860 8,053 5,103 9,837 14,234 9,153 8,241 8,618 10,137 9,935
      Social sciences 84,327 81,705 75,558 75,520 59,926 52,212 39,649 34,390 33,595 27,941
        Anthropology 1,618 678 416 120 282 223 39 16 49 0
        Economics 39,291 36,478 27,359 476 1,250 1,776 2,280 1,845 12,365 9,255
        Political science and government 303 641 492 250 374 341 1,138 201 470 839
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 1,558 659 611 2,326 861 678 234 308 395 1,752
        Social sciences nec 41,557 43,249 46,680 72,348 57,159 49,194 35,958 32,020 20,316 16,095
      Sciences nec 0 0 0 162 0 0 0 8 961 327
    Engineering 90,850 82,633 63,694 78,179 78,005 76,180 72,961 69,226 65,883 69,527
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 5,827 5,907 4,996 1,234 1,523 1,899 1,712 1,101 2,274 1,112
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 15,393 12,259 7,801 7,307 8,416 8,926 17,744 13,476 11,623 12,305
      Chemical engineering 8,724 9,113 8,307 2,768 3,205 4,278 2,157 3,857 4,170 9,532
      Civil engineering 7,828 4,712 3,608 13,481 7,048 7,441 4,365 7,889 6,546 3,809
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 44,361 41,441 32,486 40,794 42,612 39,615 33,250 27,115 26,225 28,071
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 2,814 3,154 2,572 2,528 2,425 2,377 1,846 2,350 2,254 0
      Mechanical engineering 0 0 0 5,585 6,665 7,783 6,689 5,691 4,117 4,828
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 0 0 0 2 0 0 20 1,798 178 2,629
      Engineering nec 5,903 6,047 3,924 4,480 6,111 3,861 5,178 5,949 8,496 7,241
    Non-S&E 67,549 74,487 61,177 40,040 41,691 40,541 36,952 38,794 40,837 40,574
      Business management and business administration 1,429 1,227 1,673 1,665 1,947 2,053 1,098 1,799 2,085 2,753
      Communication and communications technologies 8,742 11,396 9,240 8,701 6,699 5,692 6,009 5,936 7,714 10,265
      Education 15,419 14,155 12,039 9,202 9,021 9,384 5,956 7,841 7,969 6,291
      Humanities 3,950 6,226 5,895 3,022 2,804 2,822 1,693 1,489 1,903 2,475
      Law 247 308 607 919 1,129 1,469 2,293 1,385 1,315 2,099
      Social work 14,639 13,695 14,598 9,814 8,761 9,717 12,555 15,397 14,393 12,629
      Visual and performing arts 2,817 3,463 2,324 2,357 4,004 3,613 3,583 4,239 4,828 3,356
      Non-S&E nec 20,306 24,017 14,801 4,360 7,326 5,791 3,765 708 630 706

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Prior to FY 2016, expenditures for natural resources and conservation, materials science, anthropology, and industrial and manufacturing engineering were not collected separately. R&D expenditures in agricultural sciences decreased in FY 2016 because a number of disciplines previously reported in that field are now reported separately under natural resources and conservation.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Total R&D expenditures, by source of funds and R&D field: 2024
(Dollars in thousands)
Field All R&D expenditures Federal government State and local government Institution funds Business Nonprofit organizations All other sources
  All R&D fields 1,264,197 739,426 17,038 260,889 122,970 70,079 53,795
    Science 1,105,798 645,057 13,648 231,176 119,362 51,494 45,061
      Computer and information sciences 125,806 121,516 0 1,998 347 1,301 644
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 20,003 11,094 1,274 4,129 68 2,342 1,096
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Geological and earth sciences 8,483 5,940 115 1,185 0 929 314
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 11,520 5,154 1,159 2,944 68 1,413 782
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Life sciences 843,447 425,465 11,978 211,329 116,969 39,773 37,933
        Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Biological and biomedical sciences 464,609 227,915 1,251 111,870 77,625 16,506 29,442
        Health sciences 356,769 188,084 8,815 93,643 38,951 20,593 6,683
        Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Life sciences nec 22,069 9,466 1,912 5,816 393 2,674 1,808
      Mathematics and statistics 1,932 1,350 0 271 0 239 72
      Physical sciences 21,423 14,467 0 3,241 1,905 951 859
        Astronomy and astrophysics 8,490 6,520 0 918 0 809 243
        Chemistry 12,933 7,947 0 2,323 1,905 142 616
        Materials science 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Physics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Physical sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Psychology 8,860 8,206 0 304 0 256 94
      Social sciences 84,327 62,959 396 9,904 73 6,632 4,363
        Anthropology 1,618 1,350 0 117 0 120 31
        Economics 39,291 35,235 0 1,879 0 1,465 712
        Political science and government 303 230 0 34 0 30 9
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 1,558 130 0 665 0 545 218
        Social sciences nec 41,557 26,014 396 7,209 73 4,472 3,393
      Sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 90,850 75,260 1,026 7,263 2,682 1,945 2,674
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 5,827 4,077 134 815 461 124 216
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 15,393 14,795 21 278 0 225 74
      Chemical engineering 8,724 4,215 398 2,101 973 270 767
      Civil engineering 7,828 6,766 344 495 39 49 135
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 44,361 36,800 106 3,523 1,206 1,258 1,468
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 2,814 2,761 12 25 3 6 7
      Mechanical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Engineering nec 5,903 5,846 11 26 0 13 7
    Non-S&E 67,549 19,109 2,364 22,450 926 16,640 6,060
      Business management and business administration 1,429 268 0 541 0 477 143
      Communication and communications technologies 8,742 229 0 3,942 241 3,242 1,088
      Education 15,419 3,364 244 5,584 279 4,384 1,564
      Humanities 3,950 60 0 1,800 0 1,606 484
      Law 247 172 0 35 0 31 9
      Social work 14,639 4,446 1,868 4,714 0 2,362 1,249
      Visual and performing arts 2,817 2,817 0 0 0 0 0
      Non-S&E nec 20,306 7,753 252 5,834 406 4,538 1,523

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Prior to FY 2016, expenditures for natural resources and conservation, materials science, anthropology, and industrial and manufacturing engineering were not collected separately. R&D expenditures in agricultural sciences decreased in FY 2016 because a number of disciplines previously reported in that field are now reported separately under natural resources and conservation.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Federally funded R&D expenditures, by federal agency: 2024–15
(Dollars in thousands)
Source of funds 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
Federal Agencies 739,426 683,819 601,747 574,185 562,120 543,607 501,893 450,204 409,516 421,227
  DOD 137,106 132,806 122,075 126,122 130,708 133,937 127,457 86,429 74,345 75,197
  DOE 9,874 10,477 10,556 9,045 8,018 7,490 7,059 7,560 8,168 10,334
  HHS 509,191 456,503 397,767 367,995 348,029 328,895 300,761 273,513 254,261 258,428
  NASA 3,503 3,560 3,539 3,338 2,874 2,676 3,647 4,211 4,696 4,189
  NSF 61,278 58,556 46,412 49,721 56,035 50,376 41,458 42,900 42,954 43,569
  USDA 133 93 77 52 449 650 730 309 601 310
  Other 18,341 21,824 21,321 17,912 16,007 19,583 20,781 35,282 24,491 29,200

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Headcount of R&D personnel: 2024–18 [temporarily discontinued]
Year
2024 . . . .
2023 . . . .
2022 . . . .
2021 . . . .
2020 . . . .
2019 11,344 1,680 9,664 .
2018 8,696 1,361 7,335 .

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Science and engineering research space in academic institutions, by field: 2023–14
(Net assignable square feet in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space 2023 2021 2019 2017 2015
  All research space 1,082 1,128 1,052 1,023 997
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 250 273 238 237 276
    Computer and information sciences 155 161 188 84 100
    Engineering 194 226 147 144 133
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 22 24 78 69 68
    Health sciences 294 249 237 220 163
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 1 1 1
    Natural resources and conservation 34 48 0 0 0
    Physical sciences 64 69 72 64 61
    Psychology 13 16 23 23 24
    Social sciences 10 9 46 44 36
    Other 47 52 23 138 136

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

New construction of science and engineering research space, by field and time of construction: 2025–16
(Net assignable square feet in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space Planned to start in FY 2024 or FY 2025 Started in FY 2022 or FY 2023 Started in FY 2020 or FY 2021 Started in FY 2018 or FY 2019 Started in FY 2016 or FY 2017
  All research space 0 150,630 0 45,317 0
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 0 150,630 0 20,945 0
    Computer and information sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 0 0 0 12,872 0
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Health sciences 0 0 0 11,500 0
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 0 0
    Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0
    Physical sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Psychology 0 0 0 0 0
    Social sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Other 0 0 0 0 0

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

Costs for repair and renovation of science and engineering research space in academic institutions, by field and time of repair and renovation: 2025–16
(Dollars in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space Planned to start in FY 2024 or FY 2025 Started in FY 2022 or FY 2023 Started in FY 2020 or FY 2021 Started in FY 2018 or FY 2019 Started in FY 2016 or FY 2017
  All research space 15,643 72,365 28,955 71,880 28,596
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 4,597 36,836 10,726 27,911 8,383
    Computer and information sciences 0 723 0 5,054 2,036
    Engineering 0 7,350 3,198 21,109 7,841
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 6,561 1,405 683 6,259 6,060
    Health sciences 3,985 23,389 7,878 4,990 0
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 0 1,946
    Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0
    Physical sciences 0 2,200 5,513 4,670 1,475
    Psychology 500 0 956 0 854
    Social sciences 0 461 0 1,888 0
    Other 0 0 0 0 0

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

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